Men’s Basketball Comes up Short in Hard Fought Overtime Battle at Saint Francis

FORT WAYNE, IND. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team (12-8, 4-6 CL) took on the University of Saint Francis (8-11, 3-7 CL) in a Crossroads League contest on Saturday, January 24. 

MVNU was ready to go, jumping out to a 10-4 lead early in the first half. MVNU maintained control, leading by as many as nine points as the first half progressed. The Cougars of Saint Francis began to heat up offensively, and the game began to tighten up on the scoreboard. USF took its first lead of the day on a jump shot to make the score 30-29 with 6:54 left in the half. MVNU built back a 39-34 lead, but USF went on a 7-2 run in the final 2:27 on the clock. At halftime, the score was knotted up at 41 apiece. 

The second half remained tight as both teams went back and forth, fighting for control. MVNU trailed 83-87 with 1:21 remaining until Peyton Heiss made a three to cut the deficit to one. With 39 seconds left, USF split a pair of free throws to take an 88-86 lead. Trent Koning drew a foul on the next possession and hit two free throws of his own to tie the game back up. With six seconds remaining, Jevon Lewis drove for a layup, giving USF a 90-88 advantage. MVNU quickly inbounded the ball and pushed it up to Heiss who went straight to the basket. Heiss tied the game at 90 with a layup as time expired, sending it to overtime. 

In overtime, Koning tied the game at 103 with 52 seconds left after a pair of free throws. USF scored on the following possession, taking a 105-103 lead with 33 seconds remaining. MVNU was unable to connect on the potential game tying field goal, and even though it grabbed the offensive rebound, a turnover gave the ball back to USF. MVNU was forced to foul with two seconds remaining, and a pair of free throws by the hosts put the game away for good. MVNU would fall by a score of 103-107. 

Koning was sensational for MVNU, dropping a career-high 33 points on 9-16 shooting from the floor and 6-12 shooting from deep. Reed Platfoot set a career-high in points for the second consecutive game, this time finishing with 22 on 8-9 shooting from the field. Heiss stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Kieran Granville had a career-high of 15 points off the bench along with seven rebounds. Granville was 6-6 from the field and 3-3 from the line. Devin Dreier was the final Cougar in double figures as he finished with 10 points. 

Coach Ronai's Thoughts 

"Hard fought Crossroads League road game. Super proud of our group. We had them on the ropes multiple times and just couldn't put them away. Saint Francis has incredibly talented guard play, and they made a multitude of hard shots. Our group will get better from today." 

What's Next 

MVNU is set to host Huntington University at Ariel Arena on Wednesday, January 28, tipping off at 7:00 p.m. 

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to nearly 2,200 students from 36 states, 1 U.S. commonwealth and 41 foreign countries.